Phenology effects on productivity and hatching-asynchrony of American kestrels (Falco sparverius) across a continent

Climate-driven advances in spring can result in phenological mismatch between brood rearing and prey availability and consequently cause decreased productivity in birds. How consequences of mismatch vary across species' ranges, and how individual behavior can mitigate mismatch effects is less studied. We quantified the relationship between phenological mismatch, productivity, and behavioral adaptations of American kestrels (Falco sparverius) across their breeding range in the United States and southern Canada. We obtained phenology and productivity data using nest observations from long term nest box monitoring, remote trail cameras, and community-scientist based programs. We collected data on parental incubation behavior and hatch asynchrony using trail cameras in nest boxes. Kestrels that laid eggs after the start of spring had higher rates of nest failure and fewer nestlings than earlier nesters, and effects of mismatch on productivity were most severe in the Northeast. In contrast, kestrels in the Southwest experienced a more gradual decline in productivity with seasonal mismatch. We attribute the effect of location to the growing season and temporal nesting windows (duration of nesting season). Specifically, resource availability in the Northeast is narrow and highly peaked during the breeding season, potentially resulting in shorter nesting windows. Conversely, resource curves may be more prolonged and dampened in the Southwest, and growing seasons are becoming longer with climate change, potentially resulting in longer nesting windows. We found that the onset of male incubation was negatively associated with lay date. Males from breeding pairs that laid eggs after the start of spring began incubation sooner than males from breeding pairs that laid before the start of spring. Early-onset male incubation was positively associated with hatching asynchrony, creating increased age variation in developing young. In sum, we demonstrate that American kestrels are vulnerable to phenological mismatch, and that this vulnerability varies across space. Northeastern populations could be more vulnerable to mismatch consequences, which may be one factor contributing to declines of kestrels in this region. Also, we demonstrate early onset of incubation as a potential adaptive behavior to advance average hatch date and spread out offspring demands, but it is unknown how impactful this will be in mitigating the fitness consequences of phenology mismatch.

coveR: An R package for processing Digital Cover Photography images to retrieve forest canopy attributes

Digital Cover Photography (DCP) is an increasingly popular tool for estimating canopy cover and leaf area index (LAI). However, existing solutions to process canopy images are predominantly tailored for fisheye photography, whereas open-access tools for DCP are lacking. We developed an R package (coveR) to support the whole processing of DCP images in an automated, fast and reproducible way. The package functions, which are designed for step-by-step single-image analysis, can be performed sequentially in a pipeline and also allow simple implementation of batch-processing bunches of images. A case study is presented to demonstrate the reliability of canopy attributes derived from coveR in pure beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) stands with variable canopy density and structure. Estimates of gap fraction and effective LAI from DCP were validated against reference measurements obtained from terrestrial laser scanning. By providing a simple, transparent and flexible image processing procedure, coveR supported the use of DCP for routine measurements and monitoring of forest canopy attributes. This, combined with the implementability of DCP in many devices, including smartphones, micro-cameras, and remote trail cameras, can greatly expand the accessibility of the method also to non-experts.

Red Spot on the European Green Map: Will the Extra Catastrophic Phenomenon Take the Polish Poaching-Pressured Ospreys to the Brink of Extinction?

Poland is the only European country where the Osprey population is declining due to the mortality of adult birds from poaching, which impacts not only single breeding attempts but also the Lifetime Reproductive Success (LRS) of specimens. However, what if there came an extra mortality factor in the moment of the lowest numbers of Osprey, already vulnerable in the country? In the years 2018–2020, we installed 22 trail cameras and five digital cameras (live online video feeds) on the nests. The total failure level observed in cameras (18.5%) was high. We observed, using these cameras, the extra mortality of chicks (10.7% of potentially fledged chicks) and even adult birds by unexpected predation by Northern Goshawk and White-tailed Eagle. This phenomenon is also common in the national population, as we found a total of ten cases of total losses by predators (eight or nine of them were birds of prey), including nests not covered by camera monitoring. The extra adult-predation by Goshawks means an extra drop in LRS. Those adult and chick predations are an example of exceptional catastrophic phenomena, which have been described as the direct cause of the extinction of animal populations throughout history. Only active conservation and stop poaching of the Polish population could stop the decline and save the Polish Ospreys.

Individual animal geographies for the more-than-human city: Storying synanthropy and cynanthropy with urban coyotes

Recent efforts within geography to deconstruct anthropocentric readings of the urban and explore the city as ‘multispecies’ or ‘more-than-human’ face substantial methodological challenges. This paper contributes an empirical case study of human-coyote urban cohabitations in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada, using a ‘hybrid’ methodological approach to individual animal geographies. It builds on dialogues surrounding animals’ geographies that centre individual animal lifeworlds and experiences, exploring coyotes as subjects and actors who participate in the co-creation of shared urban worlds. A methodological approach based on collaboration and storying recounts the tales of two coyotes – Urban10 and Blondie – and their kin whose stories are gleaned by weaving together diverse social and ecological research tools, including: participant observation with Coyote Watch Canada, document review, semi-structured interviews, GPS collar data, field investigations, ethological observations, and trail cameras. The discussion details implications in terms of cynanthropy – ‘becoming-canid’ as methodology, delving into coyote lifeworlds using hybrid tools – as well as synanthropy – coyote synurbization and more-than-human urban belongings. Dwelling with Urban10 and Blondie in cynanthropic exploration makes visible opportunities for multispecies researchers to generate knowledge collaboratively with other-than-humans. Findings surrounding synanthropy highlight the practices involved in adapting to and participating, ecologically and socially, in life in the multispecies city. Overall, this paper advances efforts aimed at developing innovative and experimental hybrid methodologies for animal geographies, and theoretical discussions around re-storying the more-than-human city towards livable multispecies futures.

COVID-19 Restrictions in a Nature Reserve Reveal the Costs of Human Presence for the Threatened Nubian Ibex (Capra nubiana)

The increasing pressure of ecotourism on wildlife in their natural habitats leads many wild animals to alter their behaviors. The restrictions issued in many places due to COVID-19 provide a rare opportunity to examine wildlife behavior in nature reserves with reduced human presence, and to reveal the impact of human visitation on the behaviors and fitness of local wildlife species. In 2019 and 2020 we placed trail cameras next to two natural springs in the Israeli Negev Desert, Ein-Avdat and Ein-Shaviv, located 9 km apart. Both sites serve as the main water source for local Nubian ibex (Capra nubiana) populations, but Ein-Avdat is situated within a popular national park into which visitors’ entrance was restricted due to COVID-19 regulations in 2020, while Ein-Shaviv is more remote and thus attracts only few visitors regardless of COVID-19 regulations. Our study revealed that during 2020, ibex in Ein-Avdat arrived to drink earlier in the day and the population’s Female:Kids ratio more than doubled. These changes were not observed in Ein-Shaviv. We found that the daily number of visitors in Ein-Avdat affected the arrival time of ibex to the water pool. We conclude that the reduced number of visitors to Ein-Avdat in 2020 compared to 2019 may have allowed ibex to arrive in preferred hours, and may have contributed to the increased kid-to-females ratio. Our study shows that behavioral adaptions to human visitation in nature reserves might carry a high fitness cost.

Camera trap placement for evaluating species richness, abundance, and activity

Information from camera traps is used for inferences on species presence, richness, abundance, demography, and activity. Camera trap placement design is likely to influence these parameter estimates. Herein we simultaneously generate and compare estimates obtained from camera traps (a) placed to optimize large carnivore captures and (b) random placement, to infer accuracy and biases for parameter estimates. Both setups recorded 25 species when same number of trail and random cameras (n = 31) were compared. However, species accumulation rate was faster with trail cameras. Relative abundance indices (RAI) from random cameras surrogated abundance estimated from capture-mark-recapture and distance sampling, while RAI were biased higher for carnivores from trail cameras. Group size of wild-ungulates obtained from both camera setups were comparable. Random cameras detected nocturnal activities of wild ungulates in contrast to mostly diurnal activities observed from trail cameras. Our results show that trail and random camera setup give similar estimates of species richness and group size, but differ for estimates of relative abundance and activity patterns. Therefore, inferences made from each of these camera trap designs on the above parameters need to be viewed within this context.

PSX-B-18 Behavioral and physiological responses of ewes in hardwood silvopastures vs. open pastures

Managing livestock in silvopasture systems can help reduce heat stress and improve animal behavior and productivity. However, quantifying physiological benefits for animals in pastoral systems is challenging because the sampling procedures require animal handling; this is stressful and elevates plasma cortisol, a stress hormone. Hair cortisol (HC) is a relatively non-invasive and reliable measure of chronic stress, but it has received limited use especially in pasture systems. We compared behavioral and physiological (temperature, hair and blood cortisol) responses of ewes that grazed mid-stage hardwood silvopastures vs. open pastures. The study site consists of 0.27-ha black walnut (Juglans nigra; BW) and honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos; HL) silvopastures and open pasture (OP) treatments, each replicated three times. Thirty-six Katahdin ewes were assigned to one of the treatments for a 6-week summer grazing trial. Ewe weights and intravaginal temperatures were recorded routinely; trail cameras captured animal behavior. Blood was collected via jugular venipuncture; hair grown during the trial was collected from the loin region. Blood and hair cortisol concentration was determined by ELISA. Body weight gains and plasma cortisol levels did not differ among treatments. Ewes on OP had higher HC on Day-21 and Day-42 (P ≤ 0.007) and 0.5–1.0 °C hotter (P ≤ 0.04) intravaginal temperatures between 1200h-1700h than ewes on silvopasture treatments. Overall, ewes on OP spent more (P < 0.001) time loafing and less (P < 0.10) time lying down compared to ewes on silvopasture treatments. Trees within the silvopastures moderated ambient conditions, both reducing stress and improving the behavioral and physiological responses of ewes.

First record of Bengal Tiger, Panthera tigris tigris Linnaeus, 1758 (Felidae), in eastern Nepal

We report the first record of a Bengal Tiger, Panthera tigris tigris, in eastern Nepal in 2020 based on photographic evidence. We documented this evidence at 3,165 m a.s.l., which makes it the highest elevation record of a tiger in Nepal. We recorded this evidence in one of 46 trail cameras deployed for monitoring Red Pandas in the Panchthar-Ilam-Taplejung (PIT) area. The PIT area, which has non-protected status, borders India in the east. Our finding supports the importance of transboundary conservation, which will benefit local and flagship wildlife in the PIT area.

Introduced and native vertebrates in pink-footed shearwater (Ardenna creatopus) breeding colonies in Chile

Biodiversity conservation planning requires accurate, current information about species status and threats. Although introduced mammals are the greatest threat to seabirds globally, data on introduced species is lacking for many seabird breeding islands. To inform conservation planning, we used trail cameras to document the presence, relative abundance, and seasonal and diel attendance of introduced and native vertebrates within pink-footed shearwater (Ardenna creatopus) breeding colonies on Isla Mocha (five colonies, 2015–2020) and Isla Robinson Crusoe (Juan Fernández Archipelago), Chile (one colony, 2019–2020). The most commonly detected species were pink-footed shearwaters and introduced rats (Rattus spp.) on Isla Mocha, and European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and pink-footed shearwaters on Isla Robinson Crusoe. Introduced mammals observed, in order of greatest catch-per-unit-effort, were rats, cats (Felis catus), dogs (Canis lupus familiaris), and European hares (Lepus europaeus) on Isla Mocha and European rabbits, cats, cattle (Bos taurus), rats, dogs, mice (Mus musculus), and southern coati (Nasua nasua) on Isla Robinson Crusoe. Especially noteworthy results for pink-footed shearwater conservation were the presence of cats during all monitoring months in shearwater colonies on both islands, that catch-per-unit-effort of rabbits was greater than shearwaters on Isla Robinson Crusoe, and that rats were the most observed vertebrates after shearwaters on Isla Mocha. Pink-footed shearwaters were regularly present on the islands from October through May. Presence and relative catch-per-unit-effort of pink-footed shearwaters qualitatively matched the species’ known breeding phenology. The regular presence and temporal overlap with shearwaters of cats, rats, rabbits, and cattle within shearwater colonies, coupled with the irregular presence of dogs, coati, hares, and mice, indicated a serious conservation threat for pink-footed shearwaters and other native insular fauna and flora. Finally, our study provides a widely applicable model for analysis of multi-year trail camera data collected with unstandardized settings.